Williams, Paskey and Kopatz celebrate final match for the Eagles

Tonight, the Edgewood College women’s volleyball program is proud to honor three student-athletes who are playing their final match for the Eagles.

Leslie Kopatz took an unusual route from Minneapolis Southwest High School to Edgewood College. Kopatz was a three-sport athlete in high school and attended the University of Wisconsin for three years. At UW she was a member of the Badgers’ club sailing team, before transferring to Edgewood College and turning her attention back to volleyball. Leslie’s enthusiasm and energy has been a welcome addition to the team.



For the last two seasons, you couldn’t miss Hannah Williams on the court. Hannah has been the steady influence at the primary setting position after serving in a reserve role her first two years. She has 623 assists this season, nearly doubling her career total and giving her 1,263 over four years. Her assist total places her sixth all-time in school history and second among those who played in the rally scoring era.



On the receiving end of many of those Williams sets was outside and middle hitter Kim Paskey. Paskey has been a model of consistency in her four years at Edgewood College. Her uncanny ability to adjust her attacks in midflight and score with both power and touch has made her one of the league’s most dangerous hitters. She will leave the program as the all-time leader in kills (currently at 885) and blocks (337) in the rally scoring era. Paskey was a 2006 Northern Athletics Conference honorable mention selection.

Thank you to Leslie, Hannah and Kim for your outstanding service to Edgewood College and to Eagle Athletics.
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Volleyball hosts MAISL night

The Edgewood College women's volleyball team hosted several youth volleyball squads from the Madison Area Independent Schools League for the Eagles' match last Friday night. The teams were loud and enthusiastic and were treated to a 3-1 Eagles victory over Alverno College. Thank you to all those teams that attended. Maybe there are some future Eagles in this group.

Gavin hits the links with Tony Romo

Romo tees off, with Gavin watching

Jessica Simpson was no where to be seen and his pinky finger was completely intact at the time, but there was Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo teeing off at the Ray Fischer Golf Tournament at Janesville Riverside golf course in June.

Playing alongside Romo was Edgewood College junior Aaron Gavin. While the pairing was coincidental, it sure seemed as though someone knew that Gavin was a lifelong Cowboys fan despite growing up in South Milwaukee. A friend broke the news to Gavin who reacted with disbelief. When the official pairings arrived in the mail, "I just about fell on the floor," said Gavin.

Gavin and Romo played a round on Friday and a round on Saturday, before Romo had to withdraw from the tournament to attend to another committment in California.
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Former assistant Christman lands job

Congratulations to Jody Christman, a former player and assistant coach for the Edgewood College men's basketball program. He has landed a new high school head coaching position at Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, New Mexico.

Christman takes over the reigns of a team that went 5-19 last year. Best of luck Coach Christman.

Prepped to turn the corner (Courtesy of the Farmington Daily-Times)

Prep boys hire hoops coach (from the blog of Louie St. George III of the Daily-Times)

Black and White World Series - Game 2

VERONA, Wis. – The story after Game 1 seemed to upset the Black Team, but when it came to game time, the White Team took care of business once again, prevailing 10-6 at The Chuck last Friday night, winning the coveted Eagle Cup. The win gave Coach Eichhorn his second straight Eagle Cup, making him 2-0 in his career in the Black & White World Series.

The White Team was leading 10-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Black Team made things interesting by scoring four runs and had the bases loaded with only one out. Adam Victorn came in from second base for the second straight night to close the door. He induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the game and the White Team dog piled on top of each other sweeping the Black and White World Series two games to zero.

Offensively, the White Team was led by sophomore Treye Dennison who was 3-for-4 with two RBI, one run scored and two stolen bases. Overall, the White Team had 11 hits, six stolen bases, drew eight walks and two hit-by-pitches. As far as the Black Team goes, they were a little better on offense totaling 10 hits on the night, but stranded 10 base runners as well. The Black Team was led by junior Tim Barry who hit a ball that hasn’t landed yet, but fortunately for the White Team it was foul, or was it? We needed instant replay but The Chuck hasn’t received the technology renovations just yet, so the call stood as a foul ball. Barry proceeded to strike out, proving the ball was foul because the ball never lies. He was 2-for-4 on the night with a single and double. Seniors Alex Berta and Cory McCullick also had good nights at the plate both going 2-for-4.

Senior Rick Walsh picked up the loss for the Black Team lasting only one and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs, five of which were earned. White starter junior Scott Winters threw four strong innings scattering seven hits and giving up two runs. Earning the win though was sophomore Zach Gura who came on in the fifth and pitched one and two-thirds innings only giving up one hit. Victorn earned the save for the White Team throwing only one pitch in the bottom of the seventh.

In the series the White Team scored 21 runs, had 19 hits, drew 15 walks and was hit three times in two games. That is what I call pure domination! The Black Team set all sort of BWWS records, ones that they didn’t want to set. This is unofficial but probably true, most runs given up, most games giving up double digit runs, longest ball hit that didn’t mean a thing, etc. I could go on and on but I don’t want anyone to feel bad.

Overall, it was a great series (especially for the White Team) and a great way to end fall ball. Both teams played hard and played well (ok, maybe the Black team didn’t play well, but I wanted them to feel good for a second). We will see all of you Eagle fans up in the Metrodome in Minneapolis on February 27, 2009 at 10 p.m. for the start of our regular season. Until then, stay warm, stay safe and Go Eagles!

-- Matt Eichhorn (White Team manager, and BWWS champion)

Black and White World Series - Game 1

This completely fair and unbiased account of Game 1 of the Black and White World Series was provided by White Team manager Matt Eichhorn. As Winston Churchill said, "History is written by the victors."

VERONA, Wis. - It was a chilly night at The Chuck for Game 1 of the 2008 Black and White World Series and the Black Team’s bats were just as chilly. The White Team took Game 1 in non-dramatic fashion blowing out the Black Team 11-0.

Junior Matt Krueger earned the win pitching five strong innings, giving up only one hit…yes I did say one hit and striking out four. The bullpen, which consisted of sophomore Zach Gura, junior Brad DeVault and sophomore Adam Victorn, was just as effective, allowing only three more hits over the final four innings to preserve the win and shut out for the White Team. On the flip side, freshman Miles Mayer took the loss for the Black Team having thrown five innings giving up three runs, two earned and striking out three. His bullpen was not as friendly as they gave up eight runs, six earned over the final three innings of work.

Offensively, the Black Team was led by no one because they only had four hits in nine innings of baseball. The White Team was led by senior Ricky Martinez who was 3-for-4 with five RBI and sophomore Alex Elliott who was 1-for-3 with a three-run triple in the bottom of the sixth with two outs.

The score was 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth. The White Team had the bases loaded and had just chased starter Mayer from the game. There was one out and Victorn stepped to the plate. He popped up on the infield for the second out. Sophomore James Bertakis was on the mound for the Black Team when he hit sophomore Andrew King with a 2-1 pitch. That forced in the second run of the game making it 2-0. That set the stage for Elliott’s heroics. Up in the count, Elliott drove a ball down the right field line that landed just fair bring in all three base runners, making the score 5-0 and from that point the rout was on.

In case you didn’t read the beginning, the final score was 11-0, the White Team over the Black Team. In all honesty, it was a lot closer than that…Ok who am I joking, how could an 11-0 game be that close! We completely dominated from beginning to end and plan to sweep the series in 2. After a beating like tonight, which I’m pretty sure is a record for worst loss in BWWS history, why would you even show up to the field. The White Team out played, out hit, out pitched, out managed, and just is flat out better than the Black Team.

Game 2 is on Friday, October 10 at 5:15pm at The Chuck in Verona. Game 2 starters, for the visiting White Team will be junior lefty Scott Winters and for the Black Team will be senior Rick Walsh. Game 3, if necessary, will be 20 minutes after Game 2 ends. Make sure you show up early because there will not be a Game 3, because the White Team will win Game 2. I look forward to seeing you at The Chuck. Make sure to bring your coats, blankets and your brooms because there’s going to be a sweep Friday night!

-Matt Eichhorn, Manager, White Team
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Two Eagles in the Pointer Hall of Fame

I'm going to break my rule of thumb to not talk about myself on the Eagle Blog, but I'm only doing it because I can publicize another Eagle at the same time. Diane Hawkins, a graduate assistant women's basketball coach, and myself, David Petroff, sports information director, will be traveling to Stevens Point this weekend to participate in UW-Stevens Point's Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

In 2002, Diane was a point guard and I was an assistant coach on the Pointers' women's basketball team that won the NCAA Championship. We went 30-3 that year and earned an at-large bid to the Big Dance. On the way to the Final Four we defeated four-time national champion Washington University (Mo.) on their home floor, snapping their 70-game home winning streak. Then we hosted a sectional tournament in Stevens Point which featured about 1,800 fans stuffed into a gym with 1,500 seats. At the finals in Terre Haute, Ind. our team defeated Marymount (Va.) and St. Lawrence (N.Y.) for the title. It was truly one of the most exciting experiences of my life.

This weekend we will be back in Stevens Point as the 2001-02 team is inducted into the UW-Stevens Point Hall of Fame. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole team and reliving those wonderful moments.

P.S. to Hawkins: I can't believe it's been 6 1/2 years either.
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Black and White World Series - The Quest for the Cup

The annual Edgewood College Eagle Baseball, Black and White World Series will begin Thursday, October 9 at 6pm (BP at 5pm), at “The Chuck” (Stampfl Field), in Verona.

The Series is a three-game format. Game 1 is a nine-inning affair, with games 2 and 3 being seven inning.

This Series marks the annual completion of the Eagles' fall season and traditionally pits two of the assistant coaches against each other for a year of bragging rights. Coaches Matt Eichhorn and Nick Pepper will be leading their respective squads while Coaches Brisack and Wachholz complete fall evaluations. The coaches conducted a draft and even made some trades before Thursday’s first game.

For the players, this is the ultimate accomplishment of their fall season – winning the coveted Eagle Cup! The perpetual trophy is kept for one year by the winning team. Like Lord Stanley’s Cup, it will be taken to homes, elementary schools, dinners and even classes – a proud symbol of what teamwork and dedication can accomplish.

A member of each game’s winning team will write a game article for submission.

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Eagle Insider: NAC Women's Golf Championships

Edgewood College sophomore golfer Stephanie Leahan takes you on a trip around the course at the Northern Athletics Conference women's golf championships. Read along and get a feel for the successes and disappointments of a conference championship...

Glen Erin Golf Course is beautiful and serene except for the occasional plane taking off at the southwest Wisconsin airport. The course though had its share of challenges. The first day I was off to a great start on the front nine. It was pretty wide open and fairly tame but if you pulled it to far left or right you met the thick fescue grass, if you find the ball that’s great, but it’s whether or not you have the guts to try and hit it out without taking a drop. The fescue surprisingly wasn’t what was getting on my nerves, it was the greens. After the first hole I realized that being on the green just wouldn’t be good enough. The greens were large and sloped and extremely fast. If you were within five feet going downhill you barely had to touch the putter to the ball and it would reach the cup. I found that out the hard way on the first hole putting down the green with about seven feet to the hole, I got it to the cup, it hit the cup actually and then what everyone hates to see: the ball lipped out and rolled three feet past.

It took me about three to four holes to really figure out these greens but I still was no expert. You really needed to take advantage of the straight open fairways making sure you hit it solid so if you could get on in two or three you would have a better shot at four or a five. Although the greens were driving me crazy I was hitting the ball very well and keeping myself in contention for a reasonable score. Then the back nine came around. The fairways were much narrower, a lot more trees and many more ways of getting into trouble. If you didn’t hit it straight, you might as well have grabbed another ball and head for the point of entry because there is no way you’re getting that one back. I struggled horribly on the back nine but it was nothing I hadn’t seen before at any other courses. It took everything I had to keep my composure and finish the round knowing that my front nine score was going to be completely wiped out. Oh and it was, I ended the back nine with a 70, the worst score I have posted since I started playing golf. “This is what golf is; I kept thinking to myself sometimes it can be a big pain in the butt.”

I went out the next day excited to redeem myself for the first days blunder, constantly thinking “it’s just you against the course.” I played solid all the way around with no major slip ups along the way. I played even keel through all 18 holes no nine much better than the other. I was comfortable at this stage; I didn’t have the pressure of doing well on one nine and then trying to do the same thing on the next. It was a beautiful day and I was going to make the most of playing my last round of the season and end on a good note. I finished three strokes better than the day before and you can’t be unhappy with that. My teammates congratulated me on the improvement and I was even happier with them when I found out they had shot season low scores of 99 and 82.
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Abbi's Almanac #3

Freshman volleyball player Abbi Schultz contributes her third entry...

As most people know the month of October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In high school we had a small fund raisers but nothing really spectacular. As a whole, every volleyball team in the NAC (Northern Athletics Conference) shows their support by wearing pink shirts with the slogan “Dig for Life” written on them during warm ups. It is a pretty awesome sight to see at least twenty girls, from two different teams, coming together to represent one cause. Then watching as we change from our pink tee’s into our school’s colors as we try to dominate the other team on the court.

Talking with other people at different schools and in different conferences the same thing is happening all over the place. UW-Platteville sells witty tee-shirts with the slogan “Don’t Let Cancer Steal Second Base” written across them. Well other schools have huge fundraisers supporting finding the cure for breast cancer. All around it is a wicked cool experience to see so many people put aside their differences to come together for such a rad cause.

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Kranz, Southern and Bliske receive scholarship awards

Three Edgewood College freshman golfers were honored with the 2008 Sportsmanship Scholarship from the Lou Warobick Junior Golf Foundation. Logan Kranz, Ashley Southern and Amanda Bliske received the awards for being one of eight Wisconsin high school seniors who "exemplify good sportsmanship and contribute to their schools and communities.

According to a committee member this is the first time one college has had three scholarship winners in the same year. Congratulations to Amanda, Ashley and Logan!

Thanks to Gary D'Amato of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for mentioning them on his Golf Beat blog.

Golf teams assist Gilda's Club

The Edgewood College men's and women's golf teams took time out of their regular season schedules to volunteer for the Red Door Golf Outing. The outing benefits Gilda's Club which seeks to provide a community of free support for those living with cancer.

We are very proud of our student-athletes who give their time to support those in need.
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